Nairo Quintana has denied any wrongdoing and said no illegal substances were found during a search of his hotel room by authorities during the Tour de France.
“I do not have, and have never had, anything to hide,” Quintana said in a statement. “The French gendarmerie carried out an operation in the hotel where my team was staying on Wednesday, September 16, in Meribel, after the Tour de France stage ended,”
“That day, the authorities entered my room and seized vitamin supplements that were perfectly legal, although perhaps unfamiliar to the French authorities.
“This is the main reason why it takes time for everything that happened to be fully clarified. To avoid any doubt, I would like to confirm that no doping substances were ever found.”
In his statement, Quintana said he did not work with any assistants or staff who were not team members.
“I would also like to clear up a misunderstanding: neither during the recent Tour, nor during any other previous race, I have never consulted assistants or staff who were not part of the team. I do not have, and have never had, anything to hide,” he said.
The 30-year-old added that he had answered questions from the public prosecutor’s office “with a clear conscience”.
“It must be stressed that I have not been the subject of any accusation by the authorities,” he said. “For my part, I am, and I will be ready to answer any questions from the prosecutor, as I did on Monday and (Tuesday).”
An Arkea-Samsic statement said the investigation was not focused “directly” on the team and involved “a very limited number of riders, as well as their close entourage, not employed by the team”.
